"Have you ever noticed how much better the cities that surround these lakes look?" he asked in the letter. "Their tax paying dollars appear to be well spent. In my opinion, Akeley appears to be moving in the opposite direction...

"If the culvert project on Crow Wing Lake Drive is a success, then I believe the noise and dust situation can be fixed with a quick and very inexpensive procedure," he wrote. "More speed limit signs are a must and maybe drop the limit from 20 mph to 15 or even 10. Police in town are a must," Sabinske wrote.

"Because of the city-owned campground and the public boat launch, the city has a responsibility to maintain Crow Wing Lake Drive to the best of their ability," he concluded, noting "92 percent of the traffic on Crow Wing Lake Drive goes to these two areas."

In other action, the council:

n Approved hiring James Hanson as the part-time police chief. Six applied for the position. The council set a work session at 9 a.m. Monday, July 19 to discuss duties with him.

n Learned the Akeley Regional Community Center is "going great guns," having earned $5,000 in clothing sales. "But we're in desperate need of volunteers," Larry Holm told council members.

He's recruiting volunteers to work Thursday, Friday and Saturday, "or we may have to close on one or more of the days," he said.

Volunteers may contact Karen Andress at 652-3082 or Holm at 587-4473 for more information.

n Reported liquor store earnings of $3,576 in June, $8,910 year to date.

n Approved a $2,199 quote to clean the water tower and a $1,290 quote to rebuild the irrigator pump.